#and switch back and forth between the two until UMK finishes

[eurovision-del]

The final of Una Voce per San Marino is happening tonight, so I wanted to get out some of my thoughts on the competing songs before then! This isn’t a strict ranking – some songs had full performances posted online, others just studio cuts, and others only snippets, so it’s very hard to compare. It’s also hard to tell what these songs will sound like with proper mixing. Because of that, the places aren’t exact, but it gives a rough overview of my feelings.

Roy Paci – Tromba

Le Deva – Fiori Su Marte

Ellynora – Mama Told Me

MAYU – C'e qualcosa in me che non funziona

Deborah Iurato – Out of Space

Piqued Jacks – Like An Animal

Tothem – Sacro e profano

Iole – Sul Tetto Del Mondo

Edoardo Brogi – Due Punti Sull'equatore

Thomas – 23:23

Vina Rose – Oblivious

Kida – Stessa Pelle

Ronela Hajati – Salvaje

Alfie Arcuri – Collide

XGiove – Fuoco e Benzina

MATE – Prisma

Deshedus – Non basterà

E.E.F. – Something for You

Lorenzo Licitra – Never Give Up

NeVRuZ – L'alieno

Simone De Biagi – Catching Memories

EIFFEL 65 – Movie Star

I thought Tromba was a lot of fun just based on the snippet, and I’m glad I found a full performance of it because I actually enjoyed the verses even more than the chorus, which itself is already great with its catchy brass line! I like how it was performed with the backing singers and brass band on stage all in block colours, I would love to see what they could do with more space to work with.

I also really liked Le Deva with Fiori Su Marte, all three are fantastic singers and the song is dramatic and intense, very much my vibe. In fact, there are a lot of good female vocalists with dramatic songs in this selection, Ellynora and MAYU both stood out to me for that reason, I was intrigued by the little I heard of both their songs and was left wanting more. Out of Space made less of an impression on me based on the live snippet, but I was very much into the studio cut.

There’s also a fair amount of rock and rock-adjacent songs here – of these Piqued Jacks had the heaviest sound in the snippet, and I have to commend the lead singer’s commitment to belting out that note! It’s the one I most want to hear more of. I’m also really feeling Sacro e profano and the lead singer of Tothem has a powerful voice, although it gets a little shouty at points, and I hope she can sustain it.

Finally, I want to mention Iole, whose snippet left me desperate to hear more, but when I found the studio cut of her song, I actually found I preferred her voice in the live snippet – impressive considering how exposed it is with the imperfect mixing in the live performances.

I wanted to do at least a rough ranking this selection, partly for completion, but also because my favourite Eurovision song last year came from San Marino, so I didn’t want to miss their show again! I highly doubt the same will happen this year, but there’s plenty that intrigues me, and songs I’ll want to come back to after I’ve heard everything in full. Without that, it’s hard judge what I want to win, but I do think there’s a lot of potential here.